Trochee is a common feet in English verse, which is cadenced language cut up into lines. Trochee is a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable.
Examples:
(The underlined syllables are stressed, while the syllables that are not underlined are unstressed.)
Robert Frost
“Nothing Gold Can Stay” – Robert Frost
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf,
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day Nothing gold can stay.
*The entire poem, except the last line, is written in iambic meter. The last line is written in trochee.
Effect: The one line that is written in trochee metre creates a break from the pattern of iambic metre developed throughout the poem. It creates a disjunction in the way the reader has to say the words and draws special attention to the line that is being said, which is also the title, and thus plays an utmost important role in the theme or focus of the poem. However, it should be noted that trochee is very much similar to the iambic meter other than the fact that it is the reverse. This does cause a slight change in the rhythm of the poem, but not enough to affect its pace. Lines from Shakespeare’s Hamlet
(III.ii)
Hamlet: ‘By and by’ is easily said. Leave me, friends.
'Tis now the very witching time of night, When the churchyards yawn and hell itself breathes out
And do such bitter business as the day
Would quake to look on. Soft! now to my mother.
Effect: Because Shakespeare usually writes in iambic pentameter (see iamb), there are only several occasions where he uses the trochee meter. In many cases, as shown in the few lines on this page, it is used to create a more serious and stern tone, and is used for giving orders. For example, only the first and third line in the short extract above are written, and the first is an order by Hamlet: "Leave me, friends." The trochee presents a break within the natural rhythm of speech, captured by the iambic meter, and hence sounds more forced and harsh.
(III.vi)
Hamlet: Now, mother, what's the matter?
Queen: Hamlet, thou hast thy father much offended.
Hamlet: Mother, you have my father much offended.
Queen: Come, come, you answer with an idle tongue.
Hamlet: Go, go, you question with a wicked tongue.
Queen: Why, how now, Hamlet!
Effect: The trochee used in the second and third lines of this short extract emphasizes how much each character feels the other has "offended" the Old King Hamlet. The trochee, again, is a slight change from the iambic meter. However, it creates a firmer tone for Queen Gertrude and Hamlet, which suggests that they are arguing. Furthermore, this notion is emphasized by Hamlet's witty comments that mirror Gertrude's claims in diction and rhythm. This is especially shown through the direct mimicking of the trochee and then the iambic meter in the first to fourth lines of the extract above -- in fact, the use of the trochee, followed by Hamlet's mirrored line, heightens this sense of Hamlet and Gertrude in an arguement. It also hints at Hamlet's intentional comments to provoke Gertrude.
(IV.iii)
King: Follow him at foot; tempt him with speed aboard;
Effect: Read the "Effect" section written for Act III, Scene ii above about using the trochee meter to create a more serious tone -- one used for giving orders.
(IV.iv)
Hamlet: I’ll be with you straight. Go a little before.
How all occasions do inform against me,
And spur my dull revenge! What is a man...
Effect: In the first line of one of Hamlet's soliloquies, he dismisses all the actors on stage. Shakespeare does this in order to introduce Hamlet's soliloquy, which is not uncommon. In Hamlet's fifth soliloquy, the first extract on this page from Act III, Scene ii, Shakespeare also uses the trochee meter to bring in Hamlet's soliloquy. The trochee, which is only used in one line, creates a sharp distinction between the lines prior to the soliloquy.
Trochee
Trochee is a common feet in English verse, which is cadenced language cut up into lines. Trochee is a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable.
Examples:
(The underlined syllables are stressed, while the syllables that are not underlined are unstressed.)
“Nothing Gold Can Stay” – Robert Frost
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf,
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day
Nothing gold can stay.
*The entire poem, except the last line, is written in iambic meter. The last line is written in trochee.
Effect: The one line that is written in trochee metre creates a break from the pattern of iambic metre developed throughout the poem. It creates a disjunction in the way the reader has to say the words and draws special attention to the line that is being said, which is also the title, and thus plays an utmost important role in the theme or focus of the poem. However, it should be noted that trochee is very much similar to the iambic meter other than the fact that it is the reverse. This does cause a slight change in the rhythm of the poem, but not enough to affect its pace.
Lines from Shakespeare’s Hamlet
Hamlet: ‘By and by’ is easily said. Leave me, friends.
'Tis now the very witching time of night,
When the churchyards yawn and hell itself breathes out
And do such bitter business as the day
Would quake to look on. Soft! now to my mother.
Effect: Because Shakespeare usually writes in iambic pentameter (see iamb), there are only several occasions where he uses the trochee meter. In many cases, as shown in the few lines on this page, it is used to create a more serious and stern tone, and is used for giving orders. For example, only the first and third line in the short extract above are written, and the first is an order by Hamlet: "Leave me, friends." The trochee presents a break within the natural rhythm of speech, captured by the iambic meter, and hence sounds more forced and harsh.
(III.vi)
Hamlet: Now, mother, what's the matter?
Queen: Hamlet, thou hast thy father much offended.
Hamlet: Mother, you have my father much offended.
Queen: Come, come, you answer with an idle tongue.
Hamlet: Go, go, you question with a wicked tongue.
Queen: Why, how now, Hamlet!
Effect: The trochee used in the second and third lines of this short extract emphasizes how much each character feels the other has "offended" the Old King Hamlet. The trochee, again, is a slight change from the iambic meter. However, it creates a firmer tone for Queen Gertrude and Hamlet, which suggests that they are arguing. Furthermore, this notion is emphasized by Hamlet's witty comments that mirror Gertrude's claims in diction and rhythm. This is especially shown through the direct mimicking of the trochee and then the iambic meter in the first to fourth lines of the extract above -- in fact, the use of the trochee, followed by Hamlet's mirrored line, heightens this sense of Hamlet and Gertrude in an arguement. It also hints at Hamlet's intentional comments to provoke Gertrude.
(IV.iii)
King: Follow him at foot; tempt him with speed aboard;
Effect: Read the "Effect" section written for Act III, Scene ii above about using the trochee meter to create a more serious tone -- one used for giving orders.
(IV.iv)
Hamlet: I’ll be with you straight. Go a little before.
How all occasions do inform against me,
And spur my dull revenge! What is a man...
Effect: In the first line of one of Hamlet's soliloquies, he dismisses all the actors on stage. Shakespeare does this in order to introduce Hamlet's soliloquy, which is not uncommon. In Hamlet's fifth soliloquy, the first extract on this page from Act III, Scene ii, Shakespeare also uses the trochee meter to bring in Hamlet's soliloquy. The trochee, which is only used in one line, creates a sharp distinction between the lines prior to the soliloquy.